Rajkumar

Singanalluru Puttaswamy Muthuraj (24 April 1929– 12 April 2006), known mononymously by his stage name Rajkumar, was an Indian film actor and playback singer in the Kannada cinema. Widely acclaimed as one of the finest actors in the history of Indian cinema, he is considered a cultural icon and holds a matinée idol status in the Kannada diaspora, among whom he is popularly adulated as Nata Saarvabhouma (emperor of actors), Bangarada Manushya (man of gold), Vara Nata (gifted actor) and Rajanna / Annavru (elder brother, Raj). He was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1983, several national and state awards. His films have been remade more than 50 times in various languages - 32 movies have been remade 54 times in 7 languages. On the Centenary of Indian cinema in April 2013, Forbes included Dr. Rajkumar's performance in the film Bangarada Manushya on its list of 25 Greatest Acting Performances of Indian Cinema. Rajkumar entered the film industry after his long stint as a dramatist with Gubbi Veeranna's Gubbi Drama Company, which he joined at the age of eight before he got his first break as a lead in the 1954 film Bedara Kannappa. He went on to work in over 220 films essaying a variety of roles and excelling in portraying mythological and historical characters in films such as Bhakta Kanakadasa (1960), Ranadheera Kanteerava (1960), Satya Harishchandra (1965), Immadi Pulikeshi (1967), Sri Krishnadevaraya (1970), Bhakta Kumbara (1974), Mayura (1975), Babruvahana (1977) and Bhakta Prahlada (1983). Trained in classical music during his theatre days, Rajkumar also became an accomplished playback singer. He mostly sang for his films since 1974. The songs "Yaare Koogadali," "Huttidare Kannada," "Hey Dinakara," "Hrudaya Samudra," and "Naadamaya" became widely popular. For his rendition of the latter song, he was awarded the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer. Well known for his highly disciplined and simple lifestyle in both personal and professional fronts, Rajkumar was also an avid Yoga, Pranayama, and Carnatic music performer. In 2000, he was kidnapped from his farmhouse at Gajanur by Veerappan and was released after 108 days. He died of cardiac arrest at his residence in Bangalore on 12 April 2006 at the age of 76. In his film career, Rajkumar received eleven Karnataka State Film Awards, including nine Best Actor and two Best singer awards, eight Filmfare Awards South, and one National Film Award. He holds the record of receiving Filmfare Award for Best Actor – Kannada and Karnataka State Film Award for Best Actor the highest number of times. He received the NTR National Award in 2002. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Mysore, and is a recipient of the Padma Bhushan (1983) and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1995) for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema. His 1986 movie Anuraga Aralithu was the first Indian movie to be remade in six other languages.

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